The word “organic” gets thrown around quite a bit nowadays. Food giants slap it on labels, and it’s consistently used in advertising. And it works… your instant assumption when you hear the word organic, is that the food is healthy. Or at a minimum, healthier than its non-organic counterpart.

But ask yourself for a moment… what the hell does “organic” actually mean? Organic apples, organic poultry, organic oreos? I thought my front squats the other day were organic.

Here’s the basic principle of organic farming – to produce foods without the use of man-made chemicals. Pesticide, fertilizer, hormone free… chemical free. And for a food to be legally advertised as “organic” in the US, the product must be at a minimum 95% organically produced and handled. The standards are defined by the National Organic Program (NOP).

Now let’s apply that in the grocery store…

1. Meat

In the case of animal products, organic means that your meat received no antibiotics or hormones, and was fed organic feed throughout. In the recent decades, the food industry has developed many artificial ways to alter the size, texture, and growth rate of animal products. Steer clear, and chose organic cuts when available.

Be aware however that organic meats are not necessarily grass-fed meats. Grass-fed meats will be clearly marked. With grass-fed meats providing a higher Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio, we want to keep this in mind: Organic grass-fed > organic grain-fed > grain-fed.

2. Fish

Would you guess wild-caught fish is organic? The answer is actually no. Fish gets tricky.

In 2008, the NOP decided that wild-caught fish could not be declared organic, as we can’t control their environment. Farmed fish however can be organic. Makes sense, but despite that, wild-caught fish boasts a higher Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio and is the better option. With fish, keep this in mind: Wild-caught > organically farmed > farmed.

3. Produce

Pesticides are widely used in conventional agriculture. Fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides are chemicals that the body cannot process, and ultimately these residues build up in our system. After years of exposure, it is medically known that these pesticides can lead to birth defects, headaches, and added strain on weakened immune systems.

With produce however, there are many types that are largely unnecessary to purchase organic. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) performed 43,000 tests for pesticides, and found that consumers could cut their exposure by almost 90% by avoiding just the most contaminated fruits and veggies. Labeled as the “Dirty Dozen”, these are the 12 most important produce to consider buying organic:

“The Dirty Dozen”

1. Peaches

2. Apples

3. Sweet Bell Peppers

4. Celery

5. Nectarines

6. Strawberries

7. Cherries

8. Lettuce

9. Grapes (imported)

10. Pears

11. Spinach

12. Potatoes

Next are the types of produce that are largely unnecessary to buy organic. These foods regularly test clean either because they have a hard outer skin, or just don’t retain pesticides well.

“Clean Foods”

1. Onions

2. Avocado

3. Sweet Corn

4. Pineapple

5. Mango

6. Sweet Peas – frozen

7. Asparagus

8. Kiwi

9. Bananas

10. Cabbage

11. Broccoli

12. Eggplant

The EWG ranked 43 foods in total, and designed a free wallet-sized list of these foods that you can take to the store with you. All they require is an email address for it. Can definitely come in handy.

End of the line – not everything needs to be purchased organic. The few extra dollars is worth it to avoid the “Dirty Dozen”, but we don’t need to skyrocket the grocery bill. Make choices as the budget allows.

The snatches are one rep each and are part of a complex where you must perform the 3 reps without dropping (power snatch/squat snatch/overhead squat). The giant sets are to be completed after the snatch complex. These sets are not for time although you should try and move through 1 giant set before taking a break.

Thanks for the info Max. I just made the transition from traditional olympic lifting/ circuit training type workouts to CrossFit a couple days ago, so I’m having to hit up youtube and ask questions to figure out what some of these WOD’s are about. I appreciate the help.